Secrets and Discoveries
by BellaBambina91
Summary: Waking up with no memories and no knowledge of your past is tough, but it's made even worse when Alice meets the new boy in town. Ghosts from her mysterious past begin to emerge. Who is Alice? Where did she come from? What exactly is she?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Awakening**

I heard the dripping of the faucet, smelled the rust and decay, but I could not get myself to move. I was paralyzed, a force stronger than me holding me down on the floor. All thoughts left my mind in this one dire moment of need.

I heard muffled steps on the other side of the door, and I tried to inch my way further from it and controlled my breathing. This is not how I would die; I refuse to let it happen.

The door opened and I soon saw the thick, dirty boots of my attacker make their way around the room.

"Wake up, darling."

The voice came out of nowhere, and I found myself looking around, straining to understand where the voice was coming from. It couldn't be my attacker, could it?

"Open your eyes, honey. Wake up."

_But my eyes _are_ open!_ I blinked and realized that my eyes were indeed closed. I opened them completely, afraid that my attacker might get me, only to find that I was in a completely different place. White walls, warm bed, a tv, and other homey things were around this new room. I heard a little beeping sound to my right; when I turned I saw a mechanic machine with lines and numbers on them. Attached to the machine was a long cord connected to some sort of clip on one of my fingers.

_I'm in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital?_

Panicked, I sat up, disturbing the needles attached to my arm. Just a moment later, though, two delicate arms held me firmly to the bed. I looked at the person holding me down. Standing next to the bed was a tall, beautiful woman in her mid thirties. Her dirty blonde hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and her soft blue eyes looked down at me with worry. She was the picture of sympathy.

"Honey, you're sick. You can't get up." Her voice was soft, yet authorative, but I wasn't listening. My only objective was getting out of here.

I pushed her arms out of the way and began to get off of the bed. As I did so, I saw the woman press a button the side of the bed. Immediately, a man and another woman rushed into the room and marched towards my be. My panic began to grow as I saw myself being cornered by these strange people.

_Why am I here? What's going on?_ I tried to think back to see how I got in here, but couldn't come up with anything. I tried and tried, but my mind was coming up blank. By now, my panic was over an extreme, and I couldn't think of a way to escape from the people in the room.

_I can't remember anything!_ My brain was a mess and there was no way of organizing even a single thought. But one thing was for sure, I have no memories. I couldn't even remember my name. Nothing.

"Calm down!" the woman with the blonde hair said. She tried to reach out to me with her slender hands, but I backed away further up on the bed until finally standing, ripping the needles and patches on my body.

"We're not going to hurt you!" the man exclaimed, coming closer to the bed. "We're here to help! We're doctors, we're healing you."

"G-g-get away f-from me." My voice sounded weak, even to my ears, and I knew it had been some time since I used it. "Get away!"

I felt fresh hot tears run down my cheeks and couldn't help the sob that broke from my throat. I felt weak and helpless, no hope of getting free. _Where would I go if I got out?_ The thought crossed my mind quickly and I realized that I had nowhere to go, no one to meet, nothing to look for on the outside of this hospital room. _I have nothing, not even my name._

My legs gave way under me, and I collapsed onto the bed in a heap, crying all the while.

"What's happening?" I asked through sobs. "Where am I? Who am I?"

The blonde haired woman reached out to me again, but I didn't have the strength in me to fight her off. She put her arms around my sorry form and held me close while I cried. The other two left soon after, sensing that I was no longer a threat. The blonde woman made soothing sounds, calming me down before she spoke again.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said, shifting us so that she could look at my tear stroked face. "I just want to help you."

I looked at her, her soft blue eyes gazing into mine. I saw no lies in them, just sympathy and compassion.

With a shaky voice I asked "W-what's wrong with me?"

The woman sighed and looked down. "We were hoping you could help us out with that. The police found you in a park, naked and unconscious. No identification or anything that might give us a clue as to who you are." She paused and looked at me in the eye. "Who are you?"

"That's something I think we'd both like to know."

She looked at me with surprise. "You don't know who you are? Do you know your name?"

"No," I said simply. "I can't remember anything. I don't even know what year it is. All I remember is the dream I had before you woke me up." Tears made their way down my face as I said that.

The woman looked at me again. She seemed confused and frustrated by what I said. By this point I was exhausted and tired of crying, not wanting to be so weak in an unknown situation. I willingly talked to the woman and cooparated with everything she asked, which wasn't much, but I still didn't trust her. I couldn't trust anybody.

Some time later the blonde woman got up and began to walk to the door. When she got there she turned and said "my name is Susan. If you need anything, just press the red button by your bed. I'll be near."

Everything felt so new and weird. The noises of machines filled the room. The sterile smell was intoxicating. Everything made my head spin. I was soon giving up hope of remembering anything or of know what was wrong with me.

For the next couple of days police officers came and went asking me questions that I didn't know the answers to, and doctors filed in with needles and tools, trying to get me stable and strong. Susan came more than anyone and made me feel welcome in this strange place. A familiar rhythem began taking place everyday.

Since I woke up I began to learn a few things about myself, thanks to Susan and the doctors. I now knew that I was 19 years old, and had intense damage to the part of my brain which controlled long-term memory. The doctors said that maybe throughout time and therapy, my memory might return, but I heard the doubt in their voices. There was little hope for me, and I knew it.

Two weeks later, I found myself actually enjoying one of the many realities tv shows in the afternoon when Susan walked into the room.

"Hey darling!"

"Hello Susan," I replied warily.

"So, I have some exciting news!" She sat on the chair next to my bed.

Her excitement let a sliver of hope enter my core and I sat up immediately. "Did you find out anything about me?"

Her posture dropped a bit and she lowered her gaze. "Wel... no." My hope quickly deflated. "B-but the good news is that today we get to name you! The police say that we need some way to identify you from now on and to be honest I'm kind of tired of calling you 'darling' all the time. A name will make things so much better."

"I'm sorry to say that I don't share your excitement. I would be excited if I found out who the hell I am!"

So I was a little harsh, sue me. Anybody would have been the same way after weeks of medical checks, therapy, police checkups, and loss of identity and memory.

"Oh, don't be like that," she said. She pulled a book out of the bag she was carrying and handed it to me. After my questioning look she said, "it's a name book. It's normally used for babies, but we can use it for your situation."

I looked at the book warily.

"Why don't you just name me? It'll be easier."

"We can't do that. This is _your_ decision to make. You have to be the one who does this... Kind of like picking your new life, your new identity."

I sighed and opened the book. This was going to be a long night.

The next day, Susan came in around noon to check on my name search. She seemed disappointed when I informed her that I had found nothing of interest in there and spend more time watching tv. The Real World was an addicting show.

"You have to take this seriously, honey," she said, turning the televiosion off. "The hospital will be releasing you very soon, and by that time we need a name. How else would we identify you? Believe it or not, names are given to those who are important or loved, and there are people here that want a name for you."

"Is that some cheesy way of saying that I'm important or loved?"

Again, sue me.

Susan sighed and stood up. She reached for the remote, turned on the tv and walked to the door. She cleaned up what was left of my lunch and began to leave.

"It's not cheesy. But yes, you are," she said. "Maybe if the book won't inspire you, maybe a movie might do the trick." And with that she left the room.

I turned to the tv and let my mind roam free.

_I'm important. I'm loved. _I let a small smile play on my lips as the cartoon movie began. I don't know how long I had been asleep, but when I awoke Susan was in my room checking my blood pressure and other basics.

"Hi."

"Hey."

She continued her check-up silently. She was gentle and caring, like always, the one person in the hospital that I _almost_ trusted.

"You know, I was watching this movie," I began, grabbing her attention. I don't know why, but I felt the need to talk to her. "It's about a girl that's lost and trying to find her way home. She comes up against crazy obsticles, but she finds herself through the journey and she finds her home. Kind of inspired me, you know?"

"Really?" Susan asked.

"Yeah, and I kind of got to thinking about the whole 'name' thing. I think I might have found my new name..."

"Well..." she began, a smile creeping up in her face. She extended her hand out to me. "My name is Susan. And you are...?"

"Alice. My name is Alice."


	2. Dreams

**Chapter 2 - Home**

"Alice! Get your butt down here now!"

_Crap! _I thought, grabbing my bag from the bed and hurrying down the stairs. _I am going to be so late!_

I walked down to the kitchen where Susan stood with her hands on her hip and an annoyed look on her face.

"This is the second time this week, Alice!" she exclaimed. She passed me my toast and led the way to the front door. "Let's go. Your class starts pretty soon."

I rushed out after her, my bag open, toast in my mouth, and hair wild. It had been four months since I was in the hospital. Four very strange and very rewarding months. After I picked my name, the doctors clarified that after a few more therapy sessions, I would be released. The only problem was that I had nowhere to go.

That's where Susan stepped in.

For the last four months, Susan has acted the role of my foster mother, although normally the foster kids are younger than eighteen. She was gracious enough to allow me to live in her home and meet her two young children, Stanton and Julie. They were 9 year old twins and they accepted me immediately, making my heart soar. In gratitude for her hospitality, I helped Susan with the kids and helped keep the house in order. It was truly the least I could do, although I had no experience of anything whatsoever. Through those days of helping, I found that I was perculiarly good at cooking for the children.

After one month in her home, Susan suddenly came in after work and told me we needed to talk. My panic began and I quickly reverted back to my times at the hospital. _What did I do? Is she kicking me out?_

"Oh, honey, don't look like that!" she said after seeing my expression. "It's nothing bad. I was just thinking today about something and I kind of wanted to run it by you."

I immediately relaxed and continued my cooking. Tonight was spaghetti night.

"Well, what were you thinking?" I asked, my panic seeping out of me.

"I was just thinking that..." she stopped and I turned to look at her. She was looking down at her hands, clearly nervous. "Well, it's kind of unfair to keep you holed up in this house all the time with the kids and today I was talking to Dr. Edmund, remember him?" She looked up and continued before I could answer. "Anyways, he kind of gave me an idea that I kind of like."

"What's the idea?" I asked warily. I had come to learn to be suspicious of any of Susan's ideas. "Please tell me it's something sane."

She laughed nervously at my joke. "Well... I was thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to enroll you into college."

I stared at her for a moment, processing what she said. _College. As in school?_

"It would be so fun for you to meet new people and make new friends. The police will help you get in since you obviously don't have any school records, but you seem to know alot for someone who's lost her memory."

"I-I couldn't do that, Susan. You already gave me a home, I can't accept large amounts of money for a college too! It's far too much!" And it was true. Besides opening her home to me, she spend countless amounts of money buying me clothes and anything that would make me comfortable. She even got me a cellphone once I started taking care of her kids. I couldn't ask for more than that.

"It won't be a burden, Alice, really. It would just be the local community college, which won't be a lot anyways. Nothing fancy. I promise."

"I don't know, Susan. You've already given me so much. I don't think I can accept this offer. I appreciate it though."

"Oh, hush now, Alice." She came over to the stove where I stood preparing the pasta. "It would be wonderful to have you out there and enjoying yourself. I just want you to have as normal a life as possible. Maybe take this whole cooking thing out of just this home and cook for others as well. The community college has a great culinary arts program, you know."

_Well, I do love to cook. Maybe learning a few more things won't hurt._

That's how I found myself three months later, racing out of the house and rushing to school. I had been late once already, missing about twenty minutes of my history class. Thank heavens that the professor was late himself, otherwise I would have been screwed. Now, reaching the parking lot, I raced out of the car, waving goodbye to Susan on the way into the school. I didn't know what time it was, but I knew I was pretty close to being late for my home economics class.

"Hey Alice!" People waved at me as I rushed into the room.

"Hey guys!" I greeted taking my seat next to Kiara. "How late am I?"

I heard Kiara and a couple of the kids laugh, then Kiara turned to me with a confused face.

"Al, you're _early_. We have a whole fifteen minutes before class starts."

_Ugh. Darn Susan and her tricks!_ For the remainder of the time I talked to Kiara and Simon, sitting in front of me, and waited impatiantly for the class to start. Chatting with these two had become routine for me. I became immediate friends with Kiara, her straight fowardness and her attitude dragging me in. As for Simon, that was another story. We had many classes together, but he wasn't exactly a conversationalist. He hung around us for a while and began hanging out with us, which was apparantly a big deal because he was the number one pretty boy in school. I had to admit, he had his charms, but he wasn't exactly my cup of tea. He's big, blonde, and very attractive, but just friends material. He wasn't going after me anyways.

Even a blind person in this school could tell that Simon was pining after Kiara, and he wasn't afraid to show it. Kiara was a very attractive woman, with beautiful black hair reaching the small of her back, her bronzed skin glowing, and those deep green eyes captivating. Any man would be crazy for her, and Simon was just that. But she was one of those girls that couldn't see when a man was after her, no matter how many clues were given. Either that or she just wanted to make things hard for poor Simon. He didn't care though, he loved the unattainable.

"So, Kiara," Simon began with a tone that I had come to very accustomed to. "I'm having a little party this weekend and I was... um... wondering if maybe you'd want to come?"

I stiffled a laugh when Kiara turned to me with a small smile on her lips. So, I guess she was just making it hard for him.

"Sure Simon!" she exclaimed, turning back to Simon. "I'd love to go. Can Al come with me?"

Simon smiled and turned to me. "Of course! Alice did you want to come?"

"I'd love to, really I would," I said. "But I have to take care of the kids this weekend. Maybe another time. I'm sure you two will have plenty of fun without me."

Kiara looked at me. "Yeah, I'm sure we will, but it would be awesome if you were there! Come on, you never go out to parties or anything."

I groaned. I wasn't one for going out, my loss of memory playing a major factor in the reasoning. People always asked me questions about where I'm from and who my parents were, and those were questions I was incapable of answering. I didn't feel comfortable. The only person besides Susan that knew of my situation was Kiara, and that was only because I had come to trust her as I trusted Susan.

"I'll ask Sus, then I'll let you guys know, okay?"

Kiara smiled and turned to the front as Professor Standley entered the room.

"Quiet down people!" Mr. Standley walked quickly to his desk and placed his briefcase down before adressing the class. "Today, I have some exciting news!" Everyone immediately perked up. "We have a new student here with us today, he'll be arriving any moment now and I would appreciate it very much if you don't make this a living hell for him as you do to many of your other classmates." The class errupted in laughter.

"We'll make sure he gets the _proper_ Angels welcome, Professor," Simon said, bumping fists with Roger next to him. Everyone knew that the Angels welcome consisted of some sort of humiliation for any newcoming male in front of the masses.

Just then, a strange feeling coursed through my body, making me shiver slightly. I looked up from my mindless doodles to see that a boy was standing in the doorway, looking like nothing less than a greek Adonis. Tall with a well muscled build, he was an absolute sight to see. Jet black hair covered the right side of his face, and when he moved the hair aside I saw that he had the same color eyes. They were captivating yet frightening. He was frightening, yet intriguing.

He looked around the room, looking at every person in the room before meeting my gaze. I slowly lowered my eyes back to my notebook while he proceeded towards the teacher.

"Hello, there!" Professor Standley greeted. "And your name is?"

"Hello, sir," came a husky voice. "My name is Lucas Ferrante."

"Well, Lucas, no need to be so formal. You can just call me Standley, as many of your classmates do. Please take a seat and pay attention."

"Yes sir."

"Standley."

"Yes, _Standley."_

And with that, Lucas walked his way around the room. I took notice that the only available seat in the room was right next to me on mine and Kiara's lab table. He came and sat next to me, smiling as he sat down.

"Hello, I'm Lucas," he said extending his hand out to me.

"So I heard," I said taking his hand quickly.

"Hi Lucas!" squealed Kiara, taking his hand from mine, which I didn't complain about. This guy gave me a weird vibe. Not bad. Just weird. "I'm Kiara. Miss moody over here," she said, nodding her head in my direction, "is Alice. And that over there," she pointed in front of me, "is Simon."

"Nice to meet you all." He nodded at Simon, who acknowledged him but didn't look all that excited about Kiara's eagerness to greet him. He looked over at me once more and a strange sense of curiosity coursed through me. I looked away before my curiosity got the better of me.

The rest of the morning went by quickly, and by the time lunch arrived, I was starving and tired. I decided to skip lunch with Kiara and Simon, opting to make use of the campus' only food source: Nadine's Place. I took a seat in one of the tables and ordered my pizza burger, then got out my pre-calculus book and began to study for tomorrow's exam.

All was quiet and still, the students aound me studying or chatting lightly. A soft breeze passed through the small restaurant and I immideately snuggled in my jacket. Something felt wrong. Another breeze blowed through, chilling me to the core. I turned to see where the breeze came from, but saw no windows or doors open.

That's when I saw him.

Tall, muscular, and utterly terrifying. Wearing all black, he stood in front of the restaurant, looking in through the clear window. Straight at me.

I knew him, I know I did. I just don't know where I know him from.

A word then rung through my head, clear as day.

Danger.


End file.
